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Post by RobbyL9 on May 22, 2010 4:50:34 GMT -5
Navit lay on her back in the large king-sized bed. She was the picture of exhaustion, covered from head to toe in a layer of sweat, tears forming at the corners of her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. It had taken many long hours of effort and discomfort to get where she was, and she was still miles away from recovering. But in all honesty, she couldn't have been happier with the end result, which now lay in her arms.
"Just look at her. She's perfect." she managed in a tired tone, never taking her gaze from the little bundle of joy before her.
Navit reached down and stroked her daughter's cheek lovingly with the back of her finger. The baby reached around blindly and aimlessly, as if looking for her mother. Finally finding her, she held on as tight as her tiny hands could manage.
Sitting down beside his wife on the bed, Blades finally spoke "She looks just like you; got every one of your best features." he whispered, leaning close and running his fingers through her hair "Thank all that's sacred for that, cause I don't know if either of us could handle a little me."
This elicited a breathless chuckle from Navit, who looked up at him and smiled warmly. She leaned toward him with all her remaining strength and kissed him with just as much effort. This went on for several seconds, before their daughter began to cry and distract them from each other.
Navit softly hushed the baby girl and continued stroking her cheek, which calmed her back down. "We still have to name her." she heard Blades say above her.
"Why don't you try naming her? I remember you saying you wanted to name our child if it was a girl."
"Well I did have a name, but I don't know. You don't have to go with it if you don't wanna."
"What is it? Go ahead."
"All right." Blades sighed, putting his arm around his wife "How about... Nirmala? Is that a good name?"
Navit settled into his embrace and held their daughter close, nodding. Blades didn't need words to guess her thoughts and shifted to kiss her forehead.
---
Blades' eyes shot open, taking in the reality of the quiet solitude that surrounded him. Awakening from the solitary space he called home, for now at least, the mercenary remained completely silent save for a sigh.
Over the previous months, he had observed that the dreams were becoming less rough. That is in comparison to what they normally were. They weren't quite as vivid or nightmarish as once before, but they didn't seem that much easier to bear.
Wiping some sweat from his brow and the thoughts in his head along with it, Blades reached over to his clothes pile and retrieved his datapad. His fingers typed quickly on the holographic screen. Search query: Blue Lady Leads. he put in, his eyes sore, presumably from the back light.
Today's the day. he thought, looking at the file before him. The guard on the prison transport had had a slip of the tongue which led him to this and Blades still wasn't sure of the clue's significance. But he wasn't about to let that stop him from getting the truth out of these bureaucratic pukes.
Casually glancing at the watch in the corner of the screen, he noticed he still had some time to sleep. He closed the file up and set the alarm clock to wake him in a few hours. Just before he went back to sleep, however, Blades did one last thing with the device.
Kurt,
Need to meet you in person, could use some help. Meet me, Key Street near cafe under bridge overpass. 1200 hours, sharp.
Blades
P.S. Bring your stuff with you.
Blades pressed the send button and laid his datapad face down so that he wouldn't have to wait for the back light to go off. Even in the face of what he was about to do, the tired old merc's eyes closed and he drifted off again.
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Post by Revan Jast on May 23, 2010 18:14:31 GMT -5
His eyes snapped open in the dark just as his data-pad beeped, signaling an incoming message. He blindly reached for it in the dark, sliding the switch to unlock it. He covered his eyes as it lit up, the sudden light painful. He wasn't sure who would be contacting him at this hour; probably Sora or someone in the office with a message for him.
After a few seconds he raised the pad to his eyes and checked the message center, surprised to see the sender. Blades? What would he be wanting at this time?
Kurt opened the message, skimmed it quickly, then shut off the pad. He rubbed his face with one hand, the stubble on his cheeks rough against his smooth palm. Time to get up, he thought, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing, moving towards the door. The lights in the next room activated, casting a weak glow over the furniture. Fresher first, then a quick bite to eat on the hotel's ground floor. Sounded good to him.
In the bathroom, he turned the water on and waited for it to heat up to his perfect temperature, which was hot enough to make his skin red. He looked to his right and into the mirror, staring at his reflection. Face looks a little more tired, but my eyes haven't changed a damn bit, he thought. No, they hadn't. Still the same almost light blue, still the same coldness. It was not wrong to compare them to ice, actually.
After the shower he quickly dressed, remembering Blades' words to bring all of his things. It didn't take him long to armor up, but he left the helmet off, hanging it from its strap on his belt. His guns and knife were kept in a case under his bed; his wallet containing his New Republic I.D. by his bedside. He retrieved all these items and headed out the door into the light caused by the rising sun of Taris.
-------
Breakfast was quick and delicious: fried kath hound steak with a type of gravy imported from one of the outer limit worlds, with a few chunks of baked kinrath meat and a cup of java. He paid for his meal and pulled out his data-pad, scanning his notes to see what was on today's agenda before meeting with Blades.
Sora had been suspecting Resistance activity out this way for some time, and had sent Kurt, one of his top men and trusted advisors, to investigate. Sora was right, there was Resistance activity out here. But Kurt was lying to him in every report. He usually said that there were no leads, but sometimes he would spice it up and say that he thought he'd found a small group of people and they'd been taken care of, sending along a few pictures of dead men, women and children that he'd found other places and doctored up a bit. It kept Sora happy, it kept Kurt happy, and most of all, it kept him off of Coruscant, where security was tighter than a slut's clothes.
Glad that there wasn't much to do right now, Kurt started out for the cafe where Blades would be meeting him in a few hours. It'd take a bit of time to get there and he could easily browse around the area till the other man showed up.
Cracking his knuckles, Kurt raised his hand and hailed a speeder.
"Where to, friend?" the driver asked.
"Key Street. Know where that is?"
"Indeed, sir. Please keep all limbs inside the vehicle-"
"Just drive or your limbs will be leaving this vehicle, pronto."
The driver shut up and didn't look around for the entire trip.
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 23, 2010 19:16:57 GMT -5
A few hours later, Blades sat by himself at one of the umbrella-covered cafe tables, sipping some caf. He was dressed in civilian attire: dark jeans, a grey shirt with a salvage company logo and the same pair of black boots he had almost been buried in just recently. Sneaking a quick peek at the underside of his leather bracer which now held a watch in a circular hole.
"Almost time." he observed, looking around to make sure he wasn't being followed. The way the patrols were on this planet, he half expected the cops to show up either ten minutes after he left because of sheer incompetence or ten minutes before because of the biggest luck in existence. But what could you expect from Taris? Not even the New Republic had made this place better, especially with all the suppressing they had been doing of late.
Everything he had seen and done in the last few days brought Blades' mind back to the last time he had visited Taris and suppressed an uprising of a different sort. He hadn't done it alone and it had been for a corrupt businessman whom he punched in the face, but that didn't make him feel any better. The galaxy may have looked alive and united, but the way he understood it nearly every civilized system was dead and dying and some smelled of corpse worse than others.
Blades shook his head and slapped his cheeks to get the feelings out of his head. He clenched his fists and looked at his watch again. "Get the hell over here so we can do this already." he muttered under his breath at the absent Kurt.
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Post by Revan Jast on May 24, 2010 0:05:46 GMT -5
The speeder came to a halt outside the cafe, the sun now high in the sky. Kurt hadn't wandered far from the meeting place. He'd hit up a couple stores and that was it, stopping in one to buy a new weapon belt, which he now wore. It had a few new handy compartments and a holster for a second pistol, should he ever need it. He didn't right now, so he'd taken it off.
He stepped out after telling the driver to stick around the area, shading his eyes from the bright light. Taris was a high class city (at least up here) even after recovering from the destruction wrought by Malak thousands of years ago. Fine metal glistened in the light as skyscrapers rose around him.
It wasn't the fine sights he was here for, however, but business. And with that, he set his eyes on the business right across the street: The High Tide. It was a local restuarant and bar, known for it's selection of ales and other fine vintage drinks.
He spotted Blades at one of the tables outside and walked over to him, moving casually.
"You old bastard," Kurt said as he approached, a grin on his face. "What the hell are you up to now?"
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 24, 2010 1:16:36 GMT -5
Blades was thoroughly relieved that Kurt had finally arrived, but his expression didn't show it. Instead, he merely stood and shook Kurt's hand. He quickly sneaked a couple glances left and right before sitting back down, his expression remaining neutral. Reaching beside him, Blades recovered his datapad from the empty chair.
"Sit on down, I've got lots to tell you."
Finding the appropriate section, Blades showed Kurt the datapad. Under the 'Blue Lady Leads' file was a collection of local news stories about the police being on the lookout for the serial killer known as the Lady in Blue.
"That mean anything to you?"
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Post by Revan Jast on May 24, 2010 1:38:28 GMT -5
Kurt picked up the data-pad and looked at it, leaning back in his chair. As soon as he saw the name, he closed his eyes for a second, flashing back to those memories of Padme dying, Sonas dying... and then he went back a bit farther, to the capturing of the Killer crew.
"Coming back from the grave is nothing new for you is it, bitch?" he asked quietly, under his breath.
He sat the data-pad down and looked at Blades. "Yeah, I know the name. The boss has a thing for her. Not in a romantic, fatherly, or even sexual way. He wants her fucking blood, except he didn't express it in such a homely way. You can see it in his eyes, though. Hear it in his voice."
Kurt pushed the pad back over to Blades' side of the table and crossed his arms. "Why do you ask? Did she ditch you after an amazing one night stand or something?"
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 24, 2010 1:55:47 GMT -5
Underneath the table, Blades' right hand clenched into a fist around his knife at Kurt's comment. It felt like his hand was possessed by the Militant Spirit and it took every ounce of his control to ease up long enough to come to his senses. He didn't know. He didn't know. Think about your daughter. He didn't know.
Blades was still having conflicts in his mind as to whether he should trust Kurt with the nature of his mission or even with the mission at all. For a moment, he wondered if it had been too quick of him to just give Kurt the datapad like that. He studied the fellow merc for a moment He's relaxed and he's off guard. There's no cops around. I could stab him in the heart and be out before his hit the ground.
Blades suddenly realized he was staring somewhat intently at Kurt and blinked once, hoping it had not been too obvious. "Remember when I told you I was out of the merc business for the most part? That things had been slow for me recently?" Blades began, thinking up a simple lie "That was a lie. This psycho chick here? I've been after her for months and doing my best to track her. But the problem is, everyone I come in contact with seems to think she's nothing but an urban legend."
Blades leaned forward and crossed his fingers together. "So imagine my surprise when I'm getting hauled off to jail for no damn good reason and one of the prison guards decides to let me know that the Lady in Blue is off limits."
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Post by Revan Jast on May 24, 2010 2:11:59 GMT -5
Kurt snorted and also leaned forward, but inside his mind was ticking. He'd hit a nerve, no doubt. He'd seen the man's jaw clench slightly, as if in attempt to ward off some hotshot comment or control a sudden movement. He'd recovered fast and Kurt almost hadn't seen it... but Kurt was paid and trained to notice such things. It was in his blood.
He suddenly wondered if the man had wanted to strike him.
"Yeah, she is," he replied, dropping his voice a bit so it wouldn't carry. "Sora pretty much wants her for himself. She's responsible for a lot of the troubles just before Sora went emo and shit, and she's also directly responsible for him being emo and shit. I know enough about her to know that she targets certain people for a reason, and she's very cunning. A fucking snake, that's what she is."
And I also know that you wouldn't be after her if she didn't fuck you over in some way, Kurt thought to himself. No need to press that button now, however. If Blades wanted him to know the nature of his business, he would tell him. No doubt sometime soon, since he doubted he would be out of this anytime soon. He made his life tracking down people and killing them; there was no other reason Blades would come to see him about a matter like this.
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 24, 2010 2:35:31 GMT -5
"Yeah, and a crystal snake at that." Blades said in a serious tone, recalling one of the many dangerous creatures he had encountered on his home planet "Almost completely invisible and full of deadly venom. That's why I'm after her, there are few people who care about what this woman is all about, but one of them has told me to track her down."
Blades reached down with his finger and turned the page on the touch-screen. On the next page was a collection of pictures of the Office of Legal Affairs building in the neighboring square. From where Blades sat, he could see the office a handful of yards away, past the overpass.
"If you understand this woman as well as I think you do, then you understand how important this job is. I haven't been encountering ANY trouble up until now when I've just been looking around on my own." he continued, his emphasis increasing as he went on "I just happened to get arrested looking for tips on this bitch and I didn't even know that the cops were also looking for her. Much less that they even acknowledged her existence. So I intend to find out WHY." He slammed his palm on the table with the last word.
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Post by Revan Jast on May 24, 2010 2:52:11 GMT -5
Kurt shrugged as the waiter noticed he had arrived and brought over a few samplers. He selected what looked like a spicy type of cheese and chewed it, loving the mild burn it brought.
"Yeah, I understand that this is an important job. I won't ask why you're so damn hot for her ass, but rest assured that I'm going to pitch in. I haven't had some decent action in a couple months. Do you have any idea what that emo in office has me doing? Hunting down members of the Resistance and killing them. Of course I don't do it, I just fake some pictures, send them over to satisfy him, then go and 'hunt' some more. I'm bored as fuck here. I want some action."
Kurt pushed the plate over to Blades. "I'm also hungry cause I haven't eaten since breakfast, so while you give me the 'but wait, there's more!' speech, I suggest we order some lunch."
Kurt didn't bother waiting for a reply, he just called the waiter over and placed an order.
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 24, 2010 3:11:43 GMT -5
For the first time since Blades had met up with Kurt again, he felt something different from tense and paranoid. Strangely, for the first time in he didn't know how long, Blades was actually amused. He leaned back against his chair, an incredulous smile across his face as he did his best to comprehend what Kurt had just told him.
"So let me get this straight. You, the thespian among homicide professionals, has been doctoring photos to make it look like things HAVEN'T been killed?" Blades chuckled "C'mon now, be a good boy and tell me something I actually can believe."
Blades quickly ordered a fried nuna appetizer when asked and picked his caf cup up to have it refilled.
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Post by Revan Jast on May 24, 2010 17:04:00 GMT -5
Kurt smiled and shrugged. "Trust me, if I wasn't on good terms with the Resistance I would be killing them, but as it stands... besides, I don't do the photos myself. I'm no good with software like that. I have contacts that take care of those things for me."
His food arrived: fried fish with kulas dressing, a bottle of ale, some more of that spicy cheese (he'd forgotten the name of it) and fresh baked bread. He took a bite and grinned. "Amazing!"
Kurt motioned for Blades to keep talking. "What exactly have you been doing these past few years?"
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 24, 2010 17:28:58 GMT -5
For a brief moment Blades thought of what he had been doing for the last few years. To anybody else but him, it would likely sound very pathetic. Travel to one planet, spend a little while there looking for information on urban legends and then move on. Occasionally he'd run into trouble in a bar or bust the wrong person's head looking for information, but it was never anything particularly exciting.
"I've been doing a lot of traveling." he finally said, dipping his fried nuna into some tangy sauce "It probably sounds kind of stupid to you, but I'm not quite as young as I used to be. I've actually quit my PMC and I guess you could say went solo private sector. What about you? You say you've actually been working for Sora Trok? How long has that deal been going?"
While he waited for the answer, Blades bit into the tender nuna strip, savoring the taste of the sauce as he chewed.
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Post by Revan Jast on May 25, 2010 22:02:35 GMT -5
Kurt sliced his fish into small slices and nodded. "It's ok. He's been getting steadily worse over the years though. Lately he's had me do some fucked up stuff. Sometimes I can fake it, other times not. I refuse to kill innocents though. If he has me doing that, I call in someone else and share the payment. I've never really been about money anyways, so that's perfectly okay with me."
Kurt dipped the fish into the sauce and swallowed it down, relishing the spicy yet smooth taste. Satisfied with that, he cracked open his ale and took a sip. "Great stuff they got here, I'll tell ya."
He reached for his napkin and wiped his fingers off. "I don't blame you for wanting out. It's a thought that's crossed my mind a couple times, but I'm in too deep to escape now." He paused and looked down at his plate. "Fucking hell... I don't think I could ditch this lifestyle in a million years anyways."
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Post by RobbyL9 on May 25, 2010 22:42:58 GMT -5
"Nor could I, my friend, nor could I. I'm hoping that this Lady in Blue case turns out well enough that I can retire at the end of it all." Blades said, mentally lamenting that he had been dragged away from the life that he had and forced back in. Immediately, his thoughts turned to the two pictures he kept in the front left pocket on his vest.
One was a picture of Navit during her years as governor of Iziz, the other a picture of Nirmala that Sticks sent to keep his friend company. Those pictures were sometimes all that kept him from throwing in the towel and going home empty-handed. They reminded Blades that he was fighting to protect something far nobler and important than his own livelihood. In his mind, Blades didn't begin to accomplish his original objective as a mercenary to fight for what's right until he met Navit.
Reflecting on what Kurt had said about Sora, Blades shrugged his shoulders. "Well maybe you'll get a chance to show Sora and his lackeys just how you feel today. If the law can't be bothered to go after this Lady in Blue and they don't want people going after her themselves, then they need a good ass-whupping." Blades continued, pausing cautiously before finishing "My client thinks so anyway. He and I both got a lot invested in this case."
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